[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Wall Street Journal on RnR Fantasy Camp



Thanks to John Sullivan for forwarding:

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, June 26, 2003

MUSIC

Was Roger Daltrey Your Camp Counselor?

By JOANNE KAUFMAN, New York

Thirty guitarists, 18 drummers, 10 bass players, seven
keyboardists, seven vocalists, one saxophonist, one
flutist, one harmonica player, a triangle player, a
kazoo player and a woman defining herself as "a back,
up, way, way back up singer" came here to Rock 'n Roll
Fantasy Camp last week. No bunks, just bands; no
singing around the campfire, just around the
microphone; no color war; instead a battle of the
bands on closing night. And no jokes, please, about
name tapes sewn on instruments.

For $6,000 (excluding airfare, lodgings and groupies),
80 campers had a chance to prove their mettle -- in
some cases their heavy metal. They had endless
opportunities to get down while getting guidance from
supremely good-natured, surprisingly available
counselors like The Who's Roger Daltrey; drummer
Liberty DeVitto and sax player Mark Rivera, both
longtime Billy Joel sidemen; Night Ranger front man
Jack Blades; Free drummer Simon Kirke; Frampton
keyboardist Bobby Mayo; former Ted Nugent stalwart
Derek St. Holmes; and Mountain main man Leslie West.
"This," proclaimed Mr. Daltrey at one point, "is an
antidote to 'American Idol.' " (Comparisons, of
course, are odious, but let the record show that when
Homer went to a similar camp on an episode of "The
Simpsons," his mentors included Mick Jagger, Keith
Richards, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello.)

"There are baseball and basketball fantasy camps,"
says Harry Javer, who ran the 4=-day program, the
third so far, in concert with rock promoter David
Fishof. "And we thought someone should produce
something that would let people know what it was like
to be a rock star for a week."

Perhaps because time was at a premium, campers --
among them financial planners, brokers, CEOs,
contractors (who solicited business during their down
time), a dentist and a trauma surgeon -- had their
first moment in the sun within hours of registration:
They got to strut their stuff for head counselor Mark
Rivera, whose task it was to assess their ability (no
musical background, skill, or awareness of that most
basic G-C-D chord progression was required) and assign
them to one of nine bands. "We try to put people of
similar ability together," he explained. "If they're
with far better players, they're going to be
frustrated. If they're with players who are worse,
they're going to be angry."

Mr. Rivera appeared to have the milk of human kindness
by the gallon in every vein; at least 10 times in the
space of four hours he heard "Can't Get Enough of Your
Love," executed -- in both senses of the word -- by
folks who would be well advised to cling ardently to
their day jobs. At least eight times he got a serenade
of "Mississippi Queen." To the amiable Mr. Rivera,
each time was the first time. "Hold on, I've got the
president of RCA on the phone," he charmingly told
Alice Young, 43, a vice president of finance at a
mental health center in Philadelphia and one of the 12
women campers, after her cover of Fleetwood Mac's
"Rhiannon."

Ms. Young attended courtesy of her husband, who paid
the fee as a 20th anniversary present. For Richard
Reiss, a financial adviser and drummer, camp was a
50th birthday present from his girlfriend. "I'm going
to be homesick when camp is over," he announced. For
John Sullivan, managing director of institutional
sales at Kudlow & Co., and a bass player, it was a
40th birthday gift from his wife. "Some guys play golf
for five days. For me it'll be five days in a
rehearsal studio. I'm putting out my fourth CD this
week," he added. "I'm going to send it to you FedEx."

OK, so here was the drill. Breakfast; practice with
your group (band names included High Anxiety, Jerry's
Kids, Black Slate and World Vibe). Lunch; practice
with your band. Dinner; camper-counselor jam sessions.
Meals featured chalk talks by guest artists like Marky
Ramone, The Band founder Levon Helm and Grand Funk
Railroad engineer Mark Farner. The only no-show was
Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, reportedly injured in a
fall. "Glad it didn't happen here," muttered a
counselor, "or we'd have to deal with the liability."

On a rainy Thursday morning, in a rehearsal room just
off the lobby at SIR Studio, a band soon dubbed
Captain Jack and the Blades -- in tribute to Jack
Blades, who stepped in when the group's bass player
went AWOL  was struggling to find its rhythm.

"It's all about raising it up a notch. Don't lose the
tempo," Mr. Blades admonished musicians who had
unwittingly turned Billy Joel's "You May Be Right"
into a dirge. "Singers, I don't want any hesitation.
Even if you're doing it wrong, don't show fear."

"This is just foreplay," said a band member.

"Bad foreplay," countered one of the guitarists.

The acid (rock) test came Sunday night at The Bottom
Line, the lower Manhattan club where campers' spouses,
children and friends, hereafter known as their
entourages, cheered and operated camcorders while the
bands vied for awards like best costume, coolest band,
best cover song, best original song, best cover of a
song by The Who, best band vocals, best individual
vocal, best camper.

"We sounded horrible the first day. Now we sound --
good," said Mr. Reiss.

"It was a wonderful experience. I learned to jam more
and not to be stuck reading music. And the stars were
so personable. They went out of their way to teach
us," said Ms. Young, who was named best keyboardist
and whose band, Jerry's Kids, nabbed the prize for
best attitude.

For many participants, particularly those who were
members of rock groups in high school and college,
camp provided a chance to answer that nagging
question: Could they have been contenders? "I always
wonder how far I could have gotten," said harmonica
player-vocalist Craig Langweiler, vice president of a
financial services firm in Yardley, Pa.

Don't call us, we'll call you, is what Derek St.
Holmes would tell the majority. "But you know what,"
he adds. "God bless 'em. Hence, the word 'fantasy.'"

Ms. Kaufman last wrote for the Journal on the Broadway
Show League's softball teams.

Updated June 26, 2003


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
http://www.thewho.net/News

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com